Watch Out Tiger: Theo Ratliff Has His Own Sports Drink, Too

Notes from a trip to the NBA Playoffs.

He's not the first Piston I'd pick to have his own signature sports drink, but there it is: Theo Ratliff is the man on the label of Rebound fx.

After the fifth and deciding game against the Magic last week, I spotted a box of Rebound fx in Ratliff's locker. I asked about it, and he proudly explained it's a supplement you mix with water -- you can buy it in bulk or portable 1 oz. packages that you pour into a water bottle. Not a lot of athletes this side of Tiger Woods have their own sports drink, so I had to ask him some more questions.

As he explained, soon after he as traded to Atlanta in 2002, he was introduced to Dr. Joel Wallach, whose company, Youngevity, created vitamin and mineral supplements. After averaging 45 missed games a season from 1999-2000 through 2001-02, Dr. Wallach helped him get back on the court. "I learned that I was mineral deficient, and that's why my body was breaking down so much. And once I started getting into minerals, taking the calcium and doing that program, then my body got back together."

Something must have worked -- in 2002-03, he played in 82 games, and in 2003-04, he played in 85 thanks to a midseason trade to Portland, leading the league in blocks both seasons.

Around that time, Dr. Wallach created Rebound fx for Ratliff to drink during games. "Your sweat is a soup of the minerals that's in your body," said Ratliff. "So when you lose those minerals, when you become mineral deficient in certain areas, that's when your organs start breaking down, your bones start breaking down, you get real tired and different things of that nature. ... They basically formulated the drink so I could replenish while I was playing in the games. It also has an energy booster in it with green tea, B-12 and all that stuff -- it's all natural."

I asked Theo if he's been able to turn any of his teammates onto it and he said so far Jason Maxiell and strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander give it a thumbs up. I had to try this for myself, though, so he gave me a packet to sample. The verdict?

Make that three thumbs up. It has a somewhat strong odor (it reminds me of when you open a multi-vitiamin bottle) which made me a little nervous, but the taste is actually quite pleasant. The reason for the odor, I'm guessing, is because it's packed full of minerals and vitamins that other sports drinks don't have (as this chart shows). But if you're a fan of Vitamin Water, Gatorade and all that stuff, you'll probably like this, too. Good luck finding it, though; it doesn't seem to have very much distribution, but you can order it online here.